Howard County

The Detention Center

Not found

• Operated byNot found
• What was triedhowardcounty.ne.gov's sheriff page and "Power and Duties of Various Officials" page were opened; neither mentions a jail, corrections facility, or county board of corrections
• State reporting dataHoward County does not appear among the reporting agencies in the Nebraska Crime Commission's jail record submission table (agencytable.pdf) or in the facility list of the Jail Data Query tool (jaildata.cgi) — both state sources, not the county's own site, so this is supporting context, not proof
• Where prisoners go if no jail is operatedNot established from a source opened this session

Source: What was tried above; no county-published jail page found · checked 2026-08-25

• ✗The jail is named — not published
• ✗Who is in custody — not published
• ✗Beds and daily population — not published
• ✗What it costs taxpayers — not published
• ✗Deaths in custody — not published
• ✗PREA audits — not published
• ✗Independent inspection — not published
• ✗Who else it holds, and for how much — not published
• ✗How to post bond — not published
• ✗Phone, video and commissary rates — not published

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Howard County publishes about a jail its taxpayers own, checked 2026-08-25. Nothing here says the jail is run well or badly. Every mark moves the moment the county posts the document.

The Building

You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.

• Year builtNot found
• Original costNot found
• Paid for byNot found
• BedsNot found

The Sheriff

Sheriff Michael Hoff

• OfficeHoward County Sheriff's Office, 612 Indian Street Suite 13, St Paul, NE 68873
• Contact(308) 754-5433, fax (308) 754-5436, hcso@howardcountyso.org
• Communications CenterThe Sheriff's Office also runs the county's 911/non-emergency dispatch center, handling calls for multiple local agencies; Chief Dispatcher Melissa Paxton
• JailNo jail information is given on the sheriff's own page

Source: Howard County Sheriff's Office · checked 2026-08-25

The Judges

Nebraska uses merit selection with retention elections for every trial court judge, including the county court judge who sets bail at first appearance. The Governor appoints from a list submitted by a judicial nominating commission (Neb. Const. Art. V, sec. 21). No sitting judge's name for Howard County was found on a source opened this session.

Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-08-25

The County Commissioners

They pay for the jail. The sheriff runs it.

• What they controlThe detention budget, the building itself, and the agreements that let other agencies rent its beds.
• What they don'tDay-to-day operations. The sheriff is separately elected and answers to voters, not to the board.
• The boardBoard of County Commissioners →